Apple Launches Standalone Podcast App

There have been rumours for a while that Apple was going to be launching a standalone podcast app, fuelled by the removal of the podcasts section of the music app in iOS 6 betas. Well that day has now arrived and the podcasts app has hit the app store. The interface has been overhauled from the its days buried in the music app and now features a “Stations” section where users can discover new podcast from different categories for both audio and video podcasts. When playing a podcast Apple has stuck closely to its skeuomorphic design principles and made the the playback screen a reel to reel tape player complete with big chunky buttons. The reels actually move in time with the podcast and speed up when forwarding or rewinding. When you want new content, the app spins around into the relevant iTunes section ala iBooks and iTunes U. There are options for variable playback speeds, a sleep timer and a share button.

So will you be trying the new app out? Or are you sticking to a 3rd party app? Let us know in the comments or via our forums and if you are looking for a podcast to try it out, why not try the Coolsmartphone podcast?